Tweaked my lower back yesterday. Need to be in okay shape for Grappers Quest Boston.

[Louis Ho]

My lower back has been kinda off since yesterday. Not in great pain or anything. If I sneeze or get up too quick, I really feel it. I forced myself to roll a bit to keep up the cardio. I intend on competing at Grapplers Quest in Boston this weekend. Any tips on getting my back into "okay" shape so that I won't have to miss the competition? Thanks.

[Heidi McCreery]

Is it the nerves or muscles? I have bad problems with the nerves in my lower back. This is what I do: sit down and hug your knees as far into you chest as possible. Try to put your forehead on your knees. Then roll back and forth over your back. If you have problems with the nerves in your lower back, this will help stretch everything out and keep the pressure off the nerves. Do not roll hard if you roll at all. I would suggest drilling a lot instead of rolling. If you aggravate it before your competition it will be worse the day of. Good luck at the competition!!!

[Louis Ho]

Thanks Heidi. I will stretch (especially the one you mentioned) as much as I can before the competition. But right now, the lower right side feels like it's in a semi spasmodic state. Hopefully the stretching will loosen it up. Just wondering if I need to pull out of the comp.

[Neale Hoerle]

Louis,

I agree with Heidi 100%. I do the exact same stretch every morning before I even get out of bed. I will caution you this, however... Dont OVER STRETCH a back injury! When I first hurt my lower back 5 years ago I was leaving on a 5 day cruise the next day. I was convinced that it was just a tweek or something and I set out to stretch it out in quick order so that my vacation wouldnt be ruined. The opposite was my result. I over stretched in my race against the clock and wound up get horrible back spasms that further injured me and caused pain I cannot even describe. Use a topical analgesic and alt heat and cold along with some gentle stretches and you'll be right as rain my friend ;)

[Brandon Woolsey]

I have disabling issues with my back so maybe I can help a bit. If its kinda having spasms and tight then you just need to stretch and chill. If you do any more than that you could tighten up your entire back and will not be able to compete. On the competition day if your just a little sore and the muscles are a little tight go for it but, if you are feeling pretty tight in the back I would not compete. When I was in the Army we played basketball one morning and the next day my back was super tight and we ran so that caused herniated disks and surgery. Now I have nerve and muscle damage from my lower back all the way down my left leg. So trust me when I say this, listen to your body if your back is really tight hold off. Just my story.

[Heidi McCreery]

Try a heating pad too. That helps relax the nerves and muscles. The biggest thing about aggravated nerves is to keep the muscles loose around it. If your muscles are tight, then it will put pressure on the nerves. Like I just said, try to take it easy with the rolling and do some other exercises to keep up your cardio.

[John Roderick]

The stretch Heidi recommended as well as a heating pad will help a lot. Things like Icy Hot can help to loosen it up as well/keep it warm. Don't over do, and try to do something other than roll hard to keep your cardio up. Drill until Saturday. I may or may not be in Boston, depends on some things. However, GOOD LUCK!!

[Louis Ho]

Thanks everyone. Right now, it doesn't hurt when I walk or if I sit in a good relaxed position. It is only when I use that particular muscle, it bothers me quite a bit. Like getting up from a sitting or a crouched position. This really sucks because Grapplers Quest is like a 5 hour drive for me. And my student's car seat is really bad.

[Heidi McCreery]

Can you feel it your legs at all? You may want to schedule to leave really early so you can make stops to get out and walk during the trip. Or if you are riding, put your feet up on the dash board to stretch the lower part of your back every now and then.

[John Roderick]

Well, I may have an Oxycodone left over :) Kidding!! Can you get a muscle relaxer if it's that bad? That's an extreme solution of course, but something to consider for the drive at least. Man it sucks getting old!

[Heidi McCreery]

Muscle relaxers did absolutely nothing for me but make me sick and completely out of it. But that's me. I take about 3 or 4 ibuprofin and that helps most of the time.

[Louis Ho]

Well, I have today and tomorrow to make it better. I leave on Thursday and compete on Friday morning. That's not much time. I'm kinda stressed about it, which in turn could make it worse. Damn. Gotta stay positive.

[Bill Keeling]

Go to a chiro that has a computer controlled adjustment tool, it will work great. Try to go at least twice this week. Hope that helps. I have some disk prob and this helps when it gets bad. Also a light kettlebell, and two handed swings/sqauts will help too.

[Tim Elliott]

You really need to find someone to tell you more precisely what you have done, as for back/neck issues, the treatment for one type of issue might aggravate another type, and you dont have time for trial and error. If your lucky, you will have the type that benefits from use despite the pain, and you can have one of the magic injections.

Watch the stress as that could be the problem and your after that one magical nights sleep which fixes everything.

[Louis Ho]

Bill, wouldn't the kettlebell swings make it worse?

[Lucas Walker]

Something you might consider is buying a 110 volt inverter to plug into the cigarette lighter of your student's car so you can plug in a heating pad on the road. Also, I've always heard that MOIST heat is the way to go, because dry heat can even further "beef jerky'ify" your muscles. Also, from my experience they say that when your back or neck is tight it is your body putting it in a brace saying "don't move me yet." As it heals it should relax on its own or need a little prompting.

[Louis Ho]

Thanks for all the info guys. Denny was telling me about his chiro, Dr. Pete. Also BJ Penn's chiro. He does Zone Healing. Anybody had a chance to try this out? I tried traditional chiro and it didn't do too much for me. Denny says he's gonna try to find a "Zone Healing" chiro for me in Montreal.

[Brandon Woolsey]

Never heard of that, Im gonna look into that myself. I also do the traditional chiro thing and it helps sometimes and sometimes it doest. Good luck.

[Bill Keeling]

Thanks for all the info guys. Denny was telling me about his chiro, Dr. Pete. Also BJ Penn's chiro. He does Zone Healing. Anybody had a chance to try this out? I tried traditional chiro and it didn't do too much for me. Denny says he's gonna try to find a "Zone Healing" chiro for me in Montreal.

Louis, I have been to Dr Goldman. I had mixed results, the first time, I think he "fixed" everything. I felt better and couldn't make myself hurt or weak in any position. Then the next day, when I left I wasn't 100% like the day before. He claimed he stopped Denny from having to get both knees operated on. So I had him work on mine even though it was completely severed (ACL) and now it is connected!?! BJ, and Eddie swore by him. And he did help me, I was just a little better the first day. I wish I were out there to see him on a maintenance schedule...

As far as the swings, they are supposed to help, just use a light bell and two hands to help your form. Of course if it hurts when you try it, don't do it. You don't want to aggrevate the injury, but lightly stretch the entire back. I also use moon boots (inversion)

[AJ Camacho]

I agree with Tim. You need to sort of figure out exactly what is wrong with your back. I've read some things here that would absolutely destroy my back but obviously those same exercises have helped the people that have mentioned them. The back is a very complicated structure and unfortunately it also contains your spinal cord. It's not uncommon for the cause of the back pain to be unrelated to where you are feeling the pain. When dealing with the spinal cord things can get complicated.

[Louis Ho]

I'm pretty sure that Denny did get atleast one knee operated on. I saw some major scars around one of his knees.

[Dennis Martinez]

As a Personal Trainer i get alot of clients having the same back issue im going to agree with Heidi but if you get to boston and your back is still jacked up hit me up ill help you out and stretch you before the comp bro....

[Louis Ho]

Hey thanks Dennis! I appreciate it.

[Dennis Martinez]

No problem I mean least I can do for a brother going to war

[Shawn Arnold]

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/otMURm2Hh9B4qJ-Y5BCP1nw_5CnvPNeqTtTJzzx1RyHgEwXh89YguMmPnZfzoCQHS y5T91Sq7KBnpQWlULbnjms5o4DFyWsL2F3sCU-nb5QjseRrc1RPAAIo2MNBYdieg2O3xS-sk1nX9891TuZIfhT-obygOiL0QaLGQwxnXUm5bY1uJFM Inversion table

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/H_E4gW8q1mtTxy-oqOnJJssAmSJqS3LXDd3x8nuMzPwKi9PWRuG85ggX2-0i4TMd-AqHNeumy3uUAlHNjPakrLUT7VmJ3-_SGPG-ilcNLvdzHf3fWEBZST6bufgej3-nsY5M6LIrI51jWNrf1ExcjoN6zSglgrc2Wpt9wHLC1A Natural muscle relaxer

Worked for me

I hope you get better man!

[AJ Camacho]

This is my natural muscle relaxer for my back...

http://r6xx.com/images/uploads/konacaps_clean.jpg

[Tim Elliott]

With a lot of injuries, pain killers make you move more than you should, and slow recovery. On the other hand, lack of movement is very bad for the body. If you lie of in the couch or in bed, your muscles twitch (I dont really know what they do, but will say twitch) and move naturally to maintain themselves. Add an injury/pain and the natural twitching stops and serious muscle atrophy happens. I lost 8kg in 7 days. The trick to getting the fastest possibly recovery is getting to know your pain (what ok/whats not) and finding what movement is safe and beneficial and then doing it.

While I was writing that, my ankle literally popped. I dont mean the joint. I had surgery to get some screws out 10 days ago and a huge lump of fluid accumulated under the skin at the wound site. It was meant to take weeks to go away and was stopping me rolling. It just exploded! Messy, but cause for celebration.

[ifreez]

Louis, I would just sit this one out.

Don't kill yourself. I too have been overdetermined in my youth, not listening to the winds of unfortunate circumstance, howls of my my body, or even just common wisdom, and stressed my body more than it was capable of handling.
You need to think about longevity, rather than risk hurting yourself further, IMO. :)

"He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day."

[michael craig]

keep us updated about your back

[Louis Ho]

My back has actually gotten worse. It's more of a spasm now. It's hard to sit and even harder to get up. Last night, towards the end of my Jiu Jitsu class, I had to grab one of my students so that I could use him to pull myself off the ground. It's not looking like I'll be able to compete. Kind of demoralizing. I really wanted to go to Grapplers Quest in Boston. :(

[Jesse Bell]

Damn it Yamanashi!!! Your back will heal soon. Just lay off the rolling for a bit. If you can't go to Boston it works for me as I would like you to come see me compete.

[Heidi McCreery]

I'm sorry, man. I truly understand how you feel. Hang in there and don't lose your passion for the sport. You will get back up. Good luck!!

[Louis Ho]

Thanks Heidi. Don't worry, I won't lose the fire. It's just a temporary setback. There'll be other opportunities for me to compete. Just wish I could get rid of my lower back problem for good. If I could fix my back, I would be a beast.

[AJ Camacho]

I'm still training with a messed up back. The trick seems to be in focusing on top game drills or any move that doesn't require me to curve my lower spine inward. It kind of sucks, I haven't been able to do rubber guard for the past couple of weeks without paying for it later. In the meantime, I'm drilling my top game and strengthening my core as my back heals.

[Heidi McCreery]

That's what I'm trying to do too. Rubber guard isn't too bad on my back. When I get my back taken and when I get caught in mount are the two worst positions for me. Most of the time I have to stop rolling and start over from a different position. But hey, it has made me a lot better at defending those positions. I don't get caught in them as much anymore. :)

[Louis Ho]

I'm all about pulling guard, getting the sweep, and then working a really tight side control. I don't do takedowns as much due to my bad lower back and no lateral ligament in my left knee.

[Bill Keeling]

My back has actually gotten worse. It's more of a spasm now. It's hard to sit and even harder to get up. Last night, towards the end of my Jiu Jitsu class, I had to grab one of my students so that I could use him to pull myself off the ground. It's not looking like I'll be able to compete. Kind of demoralizing. I really wanted to go to Grapplers Quest in Boston. :(

Many tournaments to go to, only one spine Danielson! When you look at it from the proper perspective, it is not demoralizing at all. Maybe depresses you a little (prob alot) But just know that your competitors got off easy, this time.... ;)

[Louis Ho]

You're right Bill. Wise words. And yeah, those Boston douchebags got off real lucky this time.

[AJ Camacho]

I'm all about pulling guard, getting the sweep, and then working a really tight side control. I don't do takedowns as much due to my bad lower back and no lateral ligament in my left knee.

Yeah, the one good thing about grappling is that if you can't do something one way, there's always another way to do it. That's also the depressing part. My game before was catching the overhook when I pulled guard and hitting the RG path immediately. That was my bread and butter. Can't really do that while my back is healing.

I'm really bummed out over it. So now I'm watching random Sakuraba videos, working on my ankle pick (the only takedown that doesn't seem to hurt my back when it goes wrong), and drilling guard passes and top position stuff.

I asked a similar question on the Damage Control message board. Some people over there posted some interesting articles about the lower back and common problems that athletes encounter: http://damagecontrolmma.com/forum/conditioning/rehabbing-a-lower-back/

I found some of those articles incredibly helpful in piecing together a rehabilitation regiment. Now the only problem is sticking to it.

[Louis Ho]

With my back and knee problems, I don't do rubber guard as much. I'm using half guard with lockdown, and I am sweeping EVERYONE. It took me a long time to make it a dominant part of my game, but now I can sweep most guys without even breaking a sweat.